This invention relates to a system for and a method of imposing a charge for a substantial period of time of use of an apparatus without selling the apparatus itself and further to a charging object apparatus for use with the system and the method.
Conventionally, a system is employed commonly wherein a user buys a product and pays the price as an equivalent for the product itself to acquire the proprietary right of the product.
According to the conventional system, a buyer of a product pays the price for the product irrespective of whether the product is used or not used. In other words, according to the conventional system, the buyer pays the price also for a period of time within which the product is not used merely because the product is owned by the buyer. Since the value of a product can be enjoyed originally when it is used, it is regarded that, for the product which has not been used after it was purchased, the unnecessary money was paid.
Further, the product cycle of high-technology products such as a computer in recent years is so short that, after a product is purchased, a new product is placed on the market before the product is used sufficiently. Therefore, a user who has bought an old product before a new product is placed on the market may feel unprofitable in that, when such a new product is placed on the market, the user has purchased too early.
Furthermore, a user who wants to have a product which has advanced functions will have to pay, every time a new product is placed on the market, the total amount of the price as an equivalent to the product, and this imposes a significant economical burden on the user.
Taking the foregoing into consideration, another system wherein an equivalent is paid for a substantial period of time of use of a product to eliminate the problems described above has been proposed by the assignee of the present patent application (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-85453).
In the system just described, a user occupies a product only while the user uses the product, and therefore, after the use of the product comes to an end, another user can use the same product. Thus, if an apparatus can be used efficiently by a greater number of people, then the cost per unit time of use can be reduced as much. Therefore, it is significant to construct a system by which a high efficiency in use of a use object product can be achieved to minimize the burden of a charge on every user.